Frank Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara dies at age 90

FILE PHOTO - Music legend Frank Sinatra, joined by his wife Barbara, cuts an oversize 80th birthday cake during a ceremony in his honor, at a New York hotel in New York City, U.S. on November 30, 1995. REUTERS/Mark Cardwell/File Photo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Barbara Sinatra, the fourth wife of singer Frank Sinatra, died on Tuesday at the age of 90, her representative said.

John Thoresen, director of the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center in Rancho Mirage, California, said in a statement that Sinatra died of natural causes, surrounded by her family and friends at her home in the desert city.

Born Barbara Blakely, she was a former model and Las Vegas showgirl who married the famed singer and actor in 1976. She had been married to him for 22 years when he died of a heart attack in 1998. She had previously been married to Zeppo Marx, the youngest of the Marx Brothers comedy team.

FILE PHOTO - Barbara Sinatra arrives as a guest for the "Ocean's Twelve" gala black tie premiere in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California, U.S. on December 8, 2004. REUTERS/Jim Ruymen/File Photo

It was the longest of Frank Sinatra's marriages, which included unions with actresses Ava Gardner and Mia Farrow, and teenage sweetheart Nancy Barbato.

Frank and Barbara Sinatra founded the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center in Rancho Mirage, near Palm Springs, in 1986. The center counsels physically, sexually and emotionally abused children.

FILE PHOTO - Legendary entertainer Frank Sinatra and his wife Barbara pose for photographers backstage at the taping of an ABC TV special "Sinatra: 80 Years My Way" at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on November 19, 1995. REUTERS/Lee Celano/File Photo

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Peter Cooney)